Naoya Inoue previews Jason Moloney bout
Unified bantamweight world champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue goes 1-on-1 with Yahoo Sports' Kevin Ioe to discuss his upcoming title defense against Jason Moloney.
Video Transcript
KEVIN IOLE: Hey folks, I am Kevin Iole. Welcome to Yahoo Sports. And one of the most exciting fighters in the world, one of the fighters that everybody is talking about, if you follow boxing, if you're a hardcore boxing fan, you'll love this guy. And he is on his way to stardom in the US, Naoya Inoue. Naoya, how are you, my friend?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NAOYA INOUE: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Yes, I am-- I am well. Thank you.
KEVIN IOLE: Naoya, let's start right here. You're known as The Monster, 19 and 0 with 16 knockouts. On Saturday at the MGM Grand, you're going to be fighting Jason Moloney.
I don't know that there's ever been a fighter who has come from Japan who has been a really big star in the United States. But you seem to have everything that could do that. Is that why you came to the US to take this fight, to become a star in America?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NAOYA INOUE: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Yes, for me to fight in Las Vegas, that will bring me closer to that superstar status, and that's why I'm here.
KEVIN IOLE: Your fight with Nonito Donaire in November, a lot of people expected you to kind of roll through Nonito Donaire, a tremendous fighter, who will probably go into the Hall of Fame, but a guy who had been around for a long time. You had a little bit of trouble in that fight. But you ended up winning it.
A lot of people thought it was the fight of the year. Do you feel like that was you at your best? Or do you have another can still reach?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NAOYA INOUE: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Yes, I think I might have disappointed some of my fans that was expecting me to walk through Nonito. But in the second round, I got caught and broke my orbital bone. And with that injury, I had to fight through. And that's what-- that was the best I could do with that particular injury. But that would not be considered my peak level performance.
KEVIN IOLE: You know, you were-- you showed in that fight and in other fights, that you have boxing skill. And that you can break a fighter down. And that you can box if you need to.
But it strikes me-- and I wonder if you would agree with this-- it strikes me that you like to punish people, and you like to hurt people, and you like to get that spectacular knockout. You kind of have that killer instinct inside. Am I reading you correctly?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NAOYA INOUE: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Yes, basically, I like to be the aggressor-- aggressor and be the-- have the-- excuse me, aggressive fight.
KEVIN IOLE: And you seem like when you get those body shots-- I mean, obviously, you're one of the best body punchers in boxing-- seems like you get kind of a delight when you hit somebody, and they crumple and go down.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NAOYA INOUE: [LAUGHS] [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Yes. Yes, I consider that one of my arsenals, where I break the other fighter down and weak-- weaken the opponent. And that's how I'm looking at it.
KEVIN IOLE: How did you get so good at body punching? Is that something that you were always good at, Naoya? Or is it something that you learned and you had people teach you? Because there is very few fighters that go to the body as consistently as you do, and who are as successful at it as you are.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NAOYA INOUE: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: Of course, you know, there's some parts that I've learned along the way. But, basically, it's something that I considered that is-- that will-- that the opponent would not like is how I see it.
KEVIN IOLE: [LAUGHS] Your nickname is The Monster. Who gave you that nickname? I think it's an appropriate nickname. But who gave that to you? And do you like it?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NAOYA INOUE: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: The-- the-- the name, Monster, came from Mr. Ohashi, my promoter. And as to whether I like it or not, well, it's hard to say. But I've had it for so long, I'm just going with it now.
KEVIN IOLE: OK. Now, your opponent on Saturday, a really good fighter, Jason Moloney, he said, you are no monster. I'm wondering what you think about what he said about you.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NAOYA INOUE: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: The comment that Moloney made, I'm no monster, is something that all of my other opponents have said in the past. So that's fine. As far as Moloney, I think he's-- he's a good all-around fighter. But I don't see anything special about him.
KEVIN IOLE: OK. How do you see the fight ending? Do you think, you know, you'll be able to finish him?
I mean, he's a tough kid. I don't-- he's never been finished. Do you think you'll be the first one to finish him?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NAOYA INOUE: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: You know, more than 50% is going to be after I get in the ring and start fighting him. But for right now, it's just, see how it goes once I get in the ring. And we'll see how it goes.
KEVIN IOLE: And let's wrap up on this, you were scheduled-- the coronavirus canceled a lot of good things. It canceled a fight that you had with John Riel Casimero that I think would have been a fantastic fight. Casimero is a knockout artist. Just recently had a nice big win. Is that a fight that if you beat Jason Moloney, you want to get rescheduled?
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
NAOYA INOUE: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]
INTERPRETER: You know, of course, it's going to depend on how this fight goes first. But after that, he does have a belt. And that's something that we would-- I would consider. But, yeah, after this fight.
KEVIN IOLE: Awesome. He doesn't look like a monster sitting in a chair, but when you see him in a boxing ring with gloves on his hands, believe me, he is a monster. That is Naoya Inoue, one of the best fighters in the world.
I have number four on the pound-for-pound list. Don't miss him Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on ESPN. Top ranked boxing, he's going up against Jason Moloney. Naoya, thank you very much.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING JAPANESE]